An MCE is a catastrophic public health or terrorism-related event, such as an influenza pandemic, in which the needs of tens of thousands of patients or victims could overwhelm the community's health care system.
The guide examines MCE response and preparedness challenges across a range of health care settings and provides recommendations for planners in specific areas. The guide also discusses ethical and legal considerations related to MCE planning in pre-hospital, hospital, acute-care, and alternative-care sites.
This guide provides information on what communities could likely face as a result of an MCE; key constructs, principles and structures that should be incorporated into the advanced planning; approaches and strategies that could be used to provide the most appropriate standards of care possible under the circumstances; examples of tools and resources that are available to help states and communities in their planning process; and illustrative examples of how certain health systems, communities and states have approached certain issues as part of their MCE-related planning efforts. The planning guide concludes with a presentation of a case study of an influenza pandemic.
